Thermonuclear ignition and runaway in type Ia supernovae

Recent theoretical models of type Ia SN explosions are examined analytically. Qualitatively, the process described involves mass transfer to a C/O white dwarf in a binary system, bringing it near the Chandrasekhar limit and initiating runaway carbon burning. Particular attention is given to (1) carbon ignition and the convective Urca process, which acts to delay runaway, (2) detonation and deflagration models of SN dynamics, and (3) the application of observational data (light curves and spectra) to place limits on dynamical models. It is shown that most deflagration-type models do not give good agreement with spectroscopic observations, while those that do fail to explain density profiles deduced from other observations. Further research on damped-detonation models is recommended. 32 refs